Crossing-signal for railway-tracks



W..HI BIXBY. CROSSING SIGNAFxGR RAILWAY TRACKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I3 |9I9.v

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

2 SH; TS-SHEET I,

W. H. BIXBY.

CROSSING SIGNAL FOR RAILWAY TRACKS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I3 I9I9.

.Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 /l L, r., W ,N ma@ nnrrnn sii-farne PATENT formen.

Weinmann nir-Xav, ion" 'warner-rolo., rows.

CROSSING-SIGNAL F OR RAILWAY-@TRACKS Lasagne.

Applicationiled August 13, .1919.

.To a'ZZ Iwhom t mag/.concerm' Be .it .known .that I, WILLIAM H. B1Xz a Acitizen oi' the United States, residing at vVater-loo, .in the county of Blackhawk and .is .a specification, reference being lhad lto the .accompanying drawings.

This .invention .relates to signals designed -to be .disposed at .the 'intersection of a j-public .road with a railway track for the purpose .of indicating .the vapproach -of a 'train .to V.the crossing, and ,particularly to that .class .oLsigna-ls wherein Ea semaphore arm is provided which is .shifted upon the approach of atrain to a safety or danger Vindicating position.

The general 'object of my invention is to provide .a very simple andeiiec'tive mechanism of this character including a semaphore anni, and means actuated by an approaching .train whereby 4the semaphore arm .may be `shifted to lits cautionary or 'dan- .ger position, and whereby after the train has Areached lthe crossing, 'the signal arm may be :automatically shifted to its 'safety position. v

A further object ist@ provide a Aconstruction of this .kind in which a dash pot 'is used `for .the .purpose off controlling the `movements of the semaphore `or Isignal arm and ,preventingtoo rapid movement of the semaphore.

.And va .further object -is `to 'provide a .semaphore which is held in 1its safety indieating position by a trip, 'this trip rbeing ytripped .by a member carried -on a locomotive, the .semaphore then shifting Vautomatically to its .danger position and 'remaining so shifted until the train reaches the crossing and lis about 'to pass it, whereupon :the member on the engine will automatically act .to reset thesemaphore to itssafetyjposition, wherein it is again locked by .said trip.

Other objects will :appear in the course `of .the following description. N

`My invention is illustrated in 'the accompany-ing drawings, whereinz- YFigure l is a side elevation of 'a crossing signal constructed in accordance with my invention.;

Fig. .2 is a top Vplan View "of the 'construction .shown in Fig. 41;

Specification of |Letters Pa't'ent.

"end oi the fra-me.

Patented vMar.2, 1:'920.

serial 110.317,263.

Fig. 3 is `a vertical sectional `view of 'the signal standard and semaphore;

F 1g. 4 is a longitudinal detail .sectional view jof the signal 'actuating device and guide, showing the actuating 'means on the locomotive;

Fig. 5 is a 4section on `the line 5-"5 of Fig. '3;

Fig. "6 is a section on the .line 6-6 fof Fig. l;

Fig. is a sectional view of the plunger or piston;

Fig. '8 .is a sectional view oli' the trip :3l and 34,;

9 is a longitudinal sectional lview of the slide frame 23 and of the slide;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 1Ol01of F ig.

Referring to these gu1es, it will -be 'seen that my 'signal comprises essentially a ver- Ltical frame work, ldesignated generally l0, disposed to one side of the i'intersection 'orf a public road with the .tracks of Aa railway, this vertical Lframe being approximately square in cross section, though it may V:be circular., and this 'iframe 'may be 'eithersolid or skeletonic in formas #desi-red, under all circumstances .provided with vertical guide bars 1l within which yis mounted a vertical .slide 1'2 pivoted to `the `rear 'end `of a semaphore or ysignal arm '13, the 'extremity of which may-carry any desired signal, such as a llag, a placard, -a light, Kor other forb-vii'ous device, and which isv preferably weighted. .Extending 'from the frame 'l0 is a 'bracket "14 upon ywhich the 'lower 'end ol a link l5 is pivoted, the upper end ofl this link "being `pivota'lly connected to the 'semaphore 'arm "13, at T6. Tt will be obvious lnow 'that lupon a descent of the slide l2, the -arm 1:8 will "be raised and upon an ascent (of lthe slide l2, the `arm will be lowered Zto a horizontal po- .sition when Ithe yslide *12 'reaches the vupper Disposed within Lthe frame Y1'() Aat 'the lower portion thereof .-is a cylinder '17., 'within -which yoperates -a piston T8 vprovided with apertures controlled by valves 19 `and l20. The vval-ve `20 'opens to A4allow the passage of air-or'otherfluid through thepiston 'upon the down stroke -of'the piston, while 'the valve r9 opens 'upon the `up stroke of the `.piston to .allow `the passage of nil or other liquid. lThis piston is A'connected to a piston rod 21, passing 'out 'through a soA frame 23, having overhanging flanges, andk dispose within this frame the longitudinally movable slide 24, which is formed of two parts as will be later described and has free, sliding movement within the frame and projects out between the flanges of the frame f 23. k,The upper portion of this slide above the fra-me extends upward to a height somewhat greater than the height of the rails a.

A. cable is attached to the slide 12 Vand extends downward through the frame 10 and passes over a pulley 26, thence to the middle of the track A, over a pulley 27, and is attached to a coiled, contractile spring 28.

. the trip 34 to thereby trip the slide 24, and

From this spring a cable 29 extends longitudinally through the lower portion of the vframe 23 around the pulleys 30, and then is. attached to the slide 24. It will thus be seen that lwhen the slide 24 is struck by a;

train and shifted longitudinally toward the left in Fig. 1, it will pull on the .cable 29. This will stretch the spring 28, and when this springhas been stretched a certain 1. distance, the cable 25 will be pulled, drawing v the slide 12 downward from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. At its forward end, the side rails of the slide frame 23 are downwardly turned, as at 31, so that when the slide 24 reaches the forward end of the slide frame, it will move downward and out of the path of movement of the actuating device on` the pilot of the engine. It is held in this position by a latch 32 of any suitable character, which is preferably a resilient latch and which will yield to permit the passage of the slide 24 and then spring upward to hold the slide from reverse movement on the slide frame 23. Attached to this latch is a cable 33 which extends along the track, and is connected to a trip 34, this trip boing disposed at any suitable distance inv advance of the crossing.

For the purpose of actuating the trip and of afterward resetting the slide 24, as will be hereinafter explained, I attach to the pilot 36 of the locomotive an angle bar 37 extending transversely of the track, disposed above the middle thereof, and having a downwardly extending flange which will strike which will also shift the slide 24 longitudinally along the slide frame until the slide f 24 moves downward over the curved end 'of angle bar. Preferably, the trip 34 is formed y the slide frame and out of the way of the in two sections,v one of the sections constituting the body of the trip, and the other about three feet long.

35 a pivoted extension of the body which will move with the body in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8, but which will trip over independently of the body when a train is backing or when a train passes in the opposite direction;

The operation of this device is as follows: Normally, the semaphore arm 13 is disposed in the dotted line position in Fig; 3. The block 12 is pulled down to its farthest extent, and as a consequence the slide 24 will bein the dotted line'vposition shown in Fig. 4. 'Theweight of the semaphore arm 13 will tend to carry the slide back to the full line position in Fig. 4. Now when the train approaches the station, the angle bar 37 will strike the extension 35 of trip 34, and rock the trip 34 in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 8, thus releasing the detent or latch 32. This permits the semaphore arm, which is preferably weighted, to drop to the full line position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and this of course, draws the slide 24 back to the full line position shown in F ig; 3. Vhen the tra-in reaches the crossing, the angle bar 37 will strike slide 24 and cause a movement of the slide along the slide frame, which will lift the semaphore arm, and this movement will continue until the slide 24 passes over the curve at the end of track 2,3 and is again caught by the latch 32. rllhe parts are thus automatically reset.

The impact between the angle vbar 37 and the slide 24 is cushionedor taken up by the coiled spring 28, this coiled spring being As soon as the spring has stretched a certain amount, it will come mence to exert a ppll upon the cable 25 and this will draw down on the slide 12, as before explained, raising the signal arm to its safety position.` The liquid within the chamber or cylinder 17 yieldingly resists the movement of the sliding block 312 in either direction, thus preventing too quick a drop of the semaphore arm or too violent a lifting movement. Preferably, theliquid contained in the cylinder 17 will be oil, which is not liable to freeze. v

While I do not wish to be limited to the particular constructionl of the slide 24, I preferably so form thisy slide that if by any chance the latch 32 fails to work, the part of the slide 24 that is above the rails can be pushed down out of the way when a train ing an upwardly inclined lface and a tang which is pivoted, at 24", to member Springs 24c urge-this member 24a upward but vpermit its downward movement when the member 37 on the cow catcher strikes vthe inclined 'face of member rllhe operation Aof 'this ldevice ifs :obvious land needs no diur- `ther ldescription. y

lhave illustrated my Ldevice :as lap-Ignli'ed to 'a lsingle tra'c'k and have assumed :that the trafli'c Vis all fin lone direction. Where, .how- 'ever,1trafli'cis1in opposite .'c'liirections, ytwo 'of ithese devices should be installed, one being operated yby afmovement ofitrains :in one fdirection :andthe other a movement 'of trains intheoppo'siterdfifrection. lIt @will'be seenthat 2my invention is `very simple, `and that it'is thoroughly effective for the purpose intendyed. r:Phe connecting cables may be of any A'desiredilengthsoasfta) cause :an :actuation Iof the arm 'bylthe train whenthe train isfany desired dista-nce fromthe crossing. It will be obviouslthatany inventiondoesaw ay with the necessity lof Akeeping a fla-gman at crossings and that by gia-ing the :signal of lthe approach of a train, it `will prevent ia'ccidents by 'warning automobiles, drivers, .and other of the approach of a train.

I claim:-

-TL A crossing -signal of `the :character described comprising a vertical -yframe, -a vertically movable `slide mounted in the fname, a sign al arm lh a-ving lits rear :end p-i'voted '-.to the slide and lbeing'.pivotajlly:supported outward of .the `iframe, :a @lash pot 'to which the slide is connected 'operating to .cushion the moveemen't of 1the slide in `either direction, a :lon- 1.giitu'dinal-ly movable slide mounted l:between the lrails 'of a track and adapted to be engaged by an actuating device on a train, a cable connecting Lthe first :and second named slides to l'cause a. vertical movement :of the fir-st named .slide -upon Ia longitudinal movement ofthe second slide, a coiled contractile spring disposed in the length 'of the :cable and adapted to take upsshock, aflatch adapted to engage the second named .slide when it has been shifted to its full extent in one direction to hold it from reverse movement, and means for releasing the latch.

2. A crossing signal of the character described comprising a vertical frame, a vertically movable slide mounted in the frame, a signal arm having its rear end pivoted to the slide and being pivotally supported outward of the frame, a dash pot to which the slide is connected operating to cushion the movement of the slide in either direction, a longitudinally movable slide mounted between the rails of a track and adapted to be engaged by an actuating device on a train, a cable connecting the first and second named slides to cause a vertical movement of the first named slide upon a longitudinal movement of the second slide, a coiled contractile spring disposedin the length of the cable and adapted to take up shock, a latch adapted to engage the second named slide when it has been shifted to its full extent in one direction to hold it from reverse movement,

vand mean-s for releasing the latch including a trip `mounted between the irails of ithe track :and "operatively yconnected to the latch to Icause lits release when 'the ftrip `is struck by the actuating 'device on Vthe train.

3. A :crossing signal ofthe character described :comprising asemaphore arm pivoted forfmovement into=orfout of a horizontalnnd danger indicating position and urged towazrd :such horizontal position, a sliding-I .menrber mounted between the tracks and :adapted ito .be engaged by a train Vand lto be Vshifted longitudinally ithereby, said sliding member lbeing op.era-tively enga-'ged with the semaphore ari-n .to ycause it to rise when the :sliding member is shifted by a train, La :latch disposedin the ,pathoffmovement ofthe sliding member and engaging with .and holding said slid-ing member in its shifted position, Tandra trip device disposed in advance ofsaid sliding lmember and operatively connected yto the vlatch and adapted to be Vengaged by a train to release `said latch and .to release the sliding .member to thereby cause the semaphore arm to descend to its horizontal 4position. A

4. The combination with a railroad track, of 1a vertically imovable `member disposed beside the ,track land urged to :a lowered lposition, a sliding member mounted between the rails-of the track for movement lparallel thereto-and adapted to be engaged by a :train Aand to be shifted `longitudinally thereby, said sliding member being` operatively engaged with said vertically movable member to vcause 'the vertically movable Vmember to rise when lthe 4sliding member is shifted in one ldirectionby a trainl` `a latch .engaging with :the sliding member Vand holding-the .sliding member in its last named shifted yposition, and a trip device disposed in advance of :said 'sliding member and operatively connected to the latch and adapted to be engaged by a train to release the latch, and thereby release the sliding member to thereby cause said vertically movable member to descend to its irst stated position.

5. A crossing signal comprising a semaphore arm pivoted for movement into or out of a horizontal, danger indicating position and urged toward this position, means for holding the semaphore arm out of its horizontal position including a longitudinally extending guideway disposed between t-he tracks, the forward portion of the guideway being downwardly turned, a slide mounted on this guideway and adapted to be shifted therealong by a trainin one direction, a cable connection between the slide and the semaphore arm to cause the semaphore arm to be raised to a safety position when the slide has been shifted longitudinally along this guideway to the downwardly curved end of the guideway, a latch normally holding the slide in the last named position, a

cable extending from the latch to a position in advance of the guideway, and a train actuated trip disposed between the tracks and operatively connected to the latch to cause its release when struck by a train.

6. A crossing signal of the characterA described comprisinga vertical frame disposed adjacent the crossing, a vertically movable,

sliding block mounted therein, a signal armthe train, a cable extending from the sliding block to the track and connected to the slide lmounted on said guideway, there be-y ing pulleys guiding said cable, a coiled spring disposed in the length of the cable to take up shock, one extremity of the slide frame between the track being depressed to permit the slide to move out of the way of the actuating device on the' train, a latch at this depressed end engageable with the slide to prevent its retraction, and a trip mounted on the track in advance of the crossing and operatively connected to said latch to cause its release when the trip is struck by a train whereby the semaphore arm may be initially released by an approaching train to permit it to shift to its danger indicating position and then will be raised when the train has' reached the crossing through the operation of said slide and willbe held in its raised position after the train has passed by means of the latch.

7. A crossing signal of the character describedcomprising a semaphorearm pivoted for movement to a raised or to a horizontal and danger indicating position and urged toward said horizontal position, a sliding member mounted between the tracks and adapted'to be engaged by a train moving in onedirection and shifted longitudinally by the train but yielding downward `upon the engagement therewith of a train moving` in the opposite direction, said sliding member being operativelyV engaged with the semaphore arm to cause it to rise when the sliding member is shifted by a train, a latch in the path o-f movement of said sliding member, said latch engaging and holding it in its shifted position, and a trip device disposed in advance of said sliding member and operatively connected to the latch and adapted to be engaged by a train to release the latch from its engagement with the sliding member to thereby release the sliding member, and cause the semaphore arm to descend to its horizontal position.

8. In ay device of the Lcharacter described, a tripping device comprising guides having overlianging anges, a hollow member disposed between said guides and having a longitudinal'slot, and a T-shaped body having a beveled upper face disposed in said hollow member and projecting through the slot, this body being pivoted at one en'd to the hollow member or casing, and a spring urging the opposite end of the body upward to project out of said slot.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM l-I. BIXBY.

Witnesses: FRED C. SAGE, P. E. Rrrz. 

